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BOSTON, Mass. – Tuesday night, Gordon Hayward will be moved.
The veteran striker will start for the Boston Celtics in their opener against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden, which will mark his first regular season game since his knee injury last season against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But if you thought Brad Stevens had a pre-match speech that tingled on the spine before coming back, think again. Before giving his opinion, the Celtics head coach revealed what he intended to tell Hayward before the game, and it's very over-scored for Stevens.
"Do your job right from the first possession," said Stevens. "Let everything else take care of you."
The president of C was quick to point out that Hayward would not be the only player to have bright emotions Tuesday night.
"It's the only way to go about it," said Stevens. "I know it's a night full of emotion. It's an emotional evening for everyone. They will play an NBA game again and it's real and Gordon is not the only one to come back who did not play in the playoffs. Kyrie (Irving) did not participate in the playoffs, Daniel Theis did not participate in the playoffs. They have guys who will play but have not played. As if everyone was going to be jostled about the game. So, do your job well, okay? This is one of the tasks that big teams can do, so we will try to focus on that. There will be a lot of energy. There will likely be missed opportunities early because of this. Whichever team gets there as soon as possible, she will be fit. "
Do not expect Hayward to be completely thrown into the fire when he returns, either. Stevens said Monday that he would likely limit the ninth grade star to around 25 minutes per game during the first two weeks of the season. Fortunately for Boston, it has enough depth to allow Hayward to resume operations.
So, although Stevens' pre-game note for Hayward is far from being at the height of Ray Lewis's level, it's hard to dispute the coach's central message. Hayward will probably not be limited either, as it would be up to all players to list the Celtics to put Stevens' advice into practice and take possession of them at a time.
Miniature photo via Jeremy Brevard / USA TODAY Sports
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